VW Golf GTE Sport: the outrageous carbon-bodied 400bhp hybrid GTI

The wild VW Golf GTE SportSide profile, at the 'Nurburgring' (virtually)A Worthersee treat: the GTE SportCarbon bodywork bespoke for concept GolfCabin inside VW Golf GTE SportNot your average Golf GTI cabinThe hybrid plug-in tech underneath Golf GTE Sport

► First pictures of VW Golf GTE Sport
► A madcap 395bhp Worthersee concept
► Carbon body, plug-in hybrid tech

It's all go for the Volkswagen Golf at this year's Worthersee tuning festival: Wolfsburg is preparing a trio of hot hatches to wow the go-faster brigade - including this wild Golf GTE Sport.

It's a concept car, as you might judge from the bespoke carbonfibre bodywork shrouding the 400 horsepower innards.

That's a metric 400 ponies, equivalent to 395 imperial horses in bhp, achieved through some plug-in hybrid mechanicals.

VW Golf GTE Sport: a very radical kind of Golf GTI

Around 200,000 visitors to Worthersee this weekend will ogle the new GTE Sport, a radical futuristic vision for hot hatches of the future; it'll sit alongside the production-bound GTI Clubsport, a 261bhp special due for the Golf GTI's 40th in 2016, and the mainly cosmetic apprentice special Golf.

The GTE Sport has what VW calls an 'electric propshaft,' as the hybrid system powers the rear axle. Performance is predictably rapid: 0-62mph takes 4.3sec and top speed is claimed at 174mph.

Yet this vision for future performance hatchbacks also has a green edge; it can run 30 miles on silent e-power. Enough for a few laps of the Nurburgring in stealth mode then. Though presumably not at full pelt...

Peugeot RC

The RC concept was designed at the Peugeot Style Centre. Intended as a true enthusiasts car, the real innovation lay in the fact that the car was designed as an "affordable" sports car. The Peugeot RC was the concept car that paved the way for the 2008 Peugeot RC HYmotion4 concept. Peugeot used the 2002 RC concept to compare performance and economy differences between comparable petrol and diesel engines. As an affordable sports car the RC had to deliver not only in terms of price, but there was the engine, the size and running costs, as well as driver comforts to consider. A wide panoramic windscreen and the cab forward seating helps the driver see all around the car and compensates for the effect caused by the length of the car. In the Petrol vs. Diesel experiment, Peugeot aimed to prove that an HDi engine could match the performance levels achieved from a petrol engine. And to demonstrate that it was not unreasonable to put an HDi engine in a sports car. The 2 resulti...

KTM X-Bow Superlight

The extensive use of bare carbon fibre has kept the weight to a minimum The KTM X-Bow Superlight is one of the variants of the KTM X-Bow model range. As the name suggests the Superlight is the lightest model in the range - but not by much, the base model KTM X-Bow is just 5 kg (11 lbs) heavier. Although the Superlight is a full 40 kg (88 lbs) lighter than the GT4 version. The weight reductions to the KTM X-Bow Superlight have been made possible through the extensive use of carbon fibre. The monocoque structure with integrated crash protection is composed entirely of carbon fibre and left unpainted to show of the carbon fibre weave. The few body panels which are fitted to the X-Bow Superlight are also formed from carbon fibre. Additional weight savings were also achieved through the use of unique light-alloy wheels finished in a dark lacquer. Powering the KTM X-Bow Superlight is the same Audi-sourced 2.0 litre turbocharged engine found in all the X-Bow models. This engine puts out 24...

Maserati Ghibli vs BMW 6 Series : Which Will You Buy?

When considering vehicles like Maserati Ghibli and the BWM 6 Series Gran Coupe, both reflect an effort toward blending dignified luxury with exhilarating performance. Though beholding vehicles of this caliber is always an exercise most fruitfully left to the natural eye, the image above serves as a simple example of each sedan’s inherent dignity. In lieu of experiencing each vehicle’s performance profile from behind the wheel, the table provided similarly works to demonstrate what both Ghibli and BMW’s 6 series have been engineered to accomplish. Comparing the Maserati Ghibli vs. BMW 6 Series in this regard yields a number of important emphases. Local clients will notice that both vehicles develop their identity around six-cylinder engines with a pair of strategic turbochargers. Yet regardless of identical displacement and analogous induction technology, Maserati serves its Ghibli clients with significantly greater quantities of horsepower and torque. In addition to t...

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